


Just Happy to See You

by tisfan



Series: Imagine Tony and Bucky 2016/2017 [27]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Recovering, M/M, Military, Military Families, Surprises, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, War Veteran Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-16 05:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11822169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tisfan/pseuds/tisfan
Summary: Little bit angst, little bit fluff...When Tony made his husband a metal arm, he wasn't expecting the military to put him right back on deployment before they even got their shit straight.Almost a year later...





	Just Happy to See You

**Author's Note:**

> Can we have a nonpowered au where Tony is still Tony and Bucky is in the military and has been deployed for a year and he surprises Tony one day? Basically I want the equivalent of those military surprising loved ones compilations on YouTube

“You really can’t forget this, Tony,” Pepper said. She put the folder down on his desk -- he still hated being handed things, and sometimes, even when he tried hard to get over his issues, he would flinch away from something being thrust in his general direction -- and then brushed off his jacket, straightened his tie. “Do you need me to call you?”

“What’s this?” Not that he didn’t know. Tony was fronting because this was a presentation he didn’t want to do.

Pepper didn’t even sigh with exasperation. Tony reminded himself to give her a raise. “It’s the awards ceremony for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. It’s important, please consider attending. And on time.”

Tony wanted to shove the papers on the floor, stomp on them, and let them end up dirty and wrinkled under his desk. He did none of these things, but he wanted to.

It was important.

What Tony had done, for one man, had been life changing for thousands.

But Tony had done it for one man, and his reward for that was having that man taken away from him again.

He flipped open the file and winced. James Buchanan Barnes looked at the camera in three pictures; a formal military photo, bright and young and smiling. The second was him, cut out from a group photo of his unit. Hand on Clint Barton’s shoulder. Steve Rogers was flipping off the camera on the other side. They looked happy; ready for anything. The third photo, he was six weeks out from recovery, the shiny new metal arm on display. He had an olive drab Go Army baseball hat on and while his gaze was directed at the camera, it wasn’t the same.

Under, the fourth picture, which Tony refused to look at, but only because he kept seeing it every time he closed his eyes, Bucky wasn’t looking at the camera at all. His arm was missing from the mid-shoulder, wrapped in heavy bandages. He was staring at the ceiling, ignoring the single tear that rolled down his cheek just as the paparazzi had invaded his hospital room.

Of course Tony Stark’s husband -- a decorated military sniper -- had been blown up. Of course it had happened with one of Stark’s own weapons, sold under the table in a black market arms deal that had done it. And of course no one could get enough of that juicy story.

If there was a time when Tony was more inclined to work himself to death, no one could recall. He cleaned house at Stark Industries, ruthlessly cut ties to weapons manufacturing, and set to work at repairing the damage that he’d done.

Which resulted in two things; a fully articulated, nerve-grafted, prosthetic limb. And his husband being re-fucking-deployed.

Tony was pretty sure that was also his fault. If he hadn’t cut the weapons division, Bucky might not have been recalled.

True, the arm worked well enough for him to be considered combat ready. Tony would admit that. But at the same time, Bucky had paid enough for Tony’s carelessness.

And then to be honored for that? Go up on a stage in front of hundreds of people, filmed and broadcast, getting an award for making it possible for his husband to be stolen from him again and sent back out into the line of duty, into the kill spots and the troubled spots all over the world, to fight for their freedom.

To get shot at. To die. As a reminder that Tony Stark reached to be a god, and fell short of the mark.

The fact that Tony still didn’t know if Bucky had forgiven him for what he’d done didn’t help matters at all.

They’d barely spoken in months; emails here and there. A few late night Skype sessions. Tony had actually spent a few hours, picked up a pen, and wrote a long, torrid, love letter, the words smoking out of him until his hand ached and his heart hurt and there were tears running down his face. He sealed it in an envelope and told Pepper to make sure it got to Bucky, no matter what Tony might say about it later, after he sobered up.

Bucky had never mentioned the letter. Tony didn’t know if that was because he didn’t get it, or because that brutally honest missive had meant so much less to Bucky than it had to Tony.

“Tony?” Pepper was staring at him, and Tony rolled his eyes.

“Yes, yes, award ceremony, I know,” Tony said. “I’ll be there.”

“I will call you,” Pepper said. “And I’ll have Happy come pick you up. And set an alarm on your computer.”

“I’ll be there,” Tony said.

***

Pepper had written the speech.

Of course she had; Pepper went above and beyond in all things. It was just, usually when she wrote a speech, she did so knowing that Tony would go off the cards pretty much as soon as he got in front of the podium and do his own thing, because that was what Tony always did. Pepper was credited with being his speechwriter, but everyone knew pretty much everything Tony ever said was him speaking off the cuff.

Which was why it was so damn weird to be sitting in the wings and watching his husband actually read off tiny cue cards.

Not that Pepper wrote bad speeches. The words might even have been inspiring. Certainly they covered enough of what the audience wanted to hear, based on the scattered applause and the occasional “woo” from the audience.

But it wasn’t Tony.

Tony would never have said anything about _brave and noble sacrifice of our servicemen and women_.

Usually, when Bucky tried to explain to his husband why he was still in the military, Tony had rolled his eyes and called him an idiot who liked to get shot at for fun and profit, and then would insist there were lots better ways to make a profit.

Which was one of the reasons Bucky kept doing it; it was one of the few things he was good at, and the weird, uncomfortable feeling that he could do nothing at all. He could live off his husband’s largesse and no one would ever miss any contribution to the world that Bucky Barnes could have given it.

Except he’d saved lives in Afghanistan.

He might not be able to change the world the way his husband did, but Bucky couldn’t quite give up on what he could do.

Until now.

Now that the military was using him to get to Tony. Using him to punish Tony for daring to try to make the world safer through _less guns_ which was something even Bucky would think would be perfectly obvious to people; more armor, less bullets. Good plan. He tapped his breast pocket, he had a copy of his discharge papers, kept touching them to reassure himself that they were real.

He was done. He was coming home to stay.

“And so, without anything more to say, I’ll hand you over to our special guest for this evening, our award’s presenter…”

Yeah, Pepper was winding up the audience, and Tony was just looking bored. He’d given his speech, he’d done his bit, and he probably didn’t care which young soldier who’d suffered the loss of a limb and was going to display the Stark-Arm in front of the world while handing Tony a scientific achievement award.

Not that Tony didn’t care about the soldiers, because he absolutely did. But watching someone walk onto the stage, knowing they’d been carefully selected to be both pitiful in their loss and beautiful in their bravery -- that wounded Tony. He couldn’t help but take it on in just another manner of “if I had done more, this would never have happened.”

That was Tony, all over. Modern day Atlas.

“... the first recipient of this exciting new technology,” Pepper went on, “and of great personal importance to our beloved Mr. Stark… allow me to present, Sgt. James Barnes of the 107th.”

That was his cue.

***

The whole world stopped.

And everyone was watching.

Tony had been watched since the day he was born; had known the whole world was watching him since he was about four years old.

And for the first time, ever, he did not care, at all.

The whole world was watching.

As he stood up, his note cards and file folders scattered across the stage.

He kicked over the coffee that someone had brought for him and brown liquid splattered over the papers he dropped.

He was utterly, utterly shocked.

And he did not care.

Because there was Bucky. Who he hadn’t seen in person in almost eight months. Who he’d barely had time to talk to on his last visit home; too many physical therapy appointments and mental health appointments and…

Fuck.

Tony practically sprinted across the stage.

And Bucky opened his arms to pull Tony into a fierce embrace.

That he was kissing his husband, open-mouthed, wet, lewd, and utterly dirty in front of a theater full of people was inconsequential. That it was being filmed and would probably be cropped down and shown over and over again on national television. Of no matter whatsoever. The only things that mattered were right there, in his arms.

“Hey babe,” Bucky said, sly and sensual when Tony finally pulled back, leaving them both panting for breath and smiling so hard that Tony’s cheeks hurt. “I got your letter.”

“Did you?”

“Mmmhmmm,” Bucky said. He darted in, kissed Tony again, more chaste, except for the brief flick of his tongue against Tony’s lower lip that left him dizzy with desire. “And I brought you a participation trophy.”

“Is that what’s pressing into my thigh?”

“No,” Bucky said, nuzzling at his ear. “I’m just happy to see you.”

  


**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Just Happy to See You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15157685) by [MarvelousMenagerie (HiddenOne)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenOne/pseuds/MarvelousMenagerie)




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